Gluten-Free Sugar & Gingerbread Cookies

There may still be twelve days left until Christmas, but we’re already dreaming about all of the gluten-free treats we’ll get to enjoy with family and friends. But why should you have to wait until the end of December to start spreading the holiday cheer? Using the recipes below, bake some gluten-free sugar or gingerbread cookies, then hand deliver them to family and friends’ houses.

Feeling extra-festive? Invite some friends over to make gluten-free gingerbread houses (just make sure to use gluten-free candy)!

Gluten-Free Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/2 cup amaranth flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup tapioca flour

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

A pinch fresh nutmeg

Directions:

Whisk all of the flours together in a medium-sized bowl, then carefully sift them through a fine-mesh sieve into another bowl. Add the baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum to that bowl before whisking everything together again. Set aside.

Stir the butter in a separate bowl, or use the beater attachment of a stand mixer to stir it. Add the sugar, then cream them together until they have combined. Add the two eggs and vanilla extract before beating the mixture for a couple more minutes. Stir in a pinch of nutmeg.

Sift the dry ingredients mixture into the liquid one, one cup at a time. Make sure that everything is entirely mixed together. The thick batter won’t be as stiff as traditional rolled cookie dough and won’t be completely sticky to the touch. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate it overnight.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature, but don’t let it reach complete pliability. Ideally, the dough should still be rather stiff from refrigeration. Preheat the oven to 375° F, then roll out the cookie dough on a gluten-free cutting board, or between two pieces of parchment paper. Use cookie cutters or a knife to cut out holiday shapes or create your own.

Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, depending on your oven and how crispy you’d like them to be. Let them cool 10 minutes before tasting them.

Combine maple syrup, molasses, oil, and sugar in a large bowl. Add applesauce and flax-water mixture to the large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine baking soda, flours, sea salt, spices and xanthan gum. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, then stir. Add 1/4 cup of milk, then stir in remaining flour. Add more milk if necessary.

The dough should be a little sticky at this point, so use floured hands to roll it into a ball and wrap it in plastic before refrigerating. If you’d rather keep it in the bowl while you refrigerate it, scrape the dough down the sides of the bowl before you chill it. Refrigerate for at least 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking tray with parchment. Remove dough from fridge and divide in half. Roll out each half on a floured, gluten-free surface to 1/4 inch thickness before cutting into desired shapes. Place cookies at least 1 inch from one another on the parchment and bake for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven and how crispy you’d like them.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies (depending on size) or 1 gingerbread house and a few accessories.